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Creamy Butter Beans and Leeks

After a spectacular weekend filled with friends, barbecues, hikes, wild blueberries and a lot of Michael Jackson, we've started the week on a positive note. The past few weeks were overshadowed with a lot of chaos and stress - to move or not to move - was the question of the month.

Things are beginning get sorted and we are re-finding our bearings again. It feels good to be moving on again.

It will take time for us to get over the experience for sure but, as I have often said, it's the gentle net our fiends have spread out below us that is catching our fall. And of course the kitchen always provides me with a hide-away whenever I need to get away from it all.

We often enjoy simple down-to earth meals during the week and my love for legumes always keeps me on the look-out for new recipes. A recipe that caught my eye was one from Jamie Oliver’s - Cook with Jamie. Personally I find it a little treasure book full of interesting and delicious recipes, which are simple to make and are big in taste. This dish is no exception.

I made a a few tiny changes to the recipe. Butter beans have a sweet, buttery taste and are wonderfully tender. Not to be confused with lima beans, as lima beans are green and not as aromatic and tender as butter beans. Together with the delicate and subtle flavor of the leek this dish is just asking to be made in huge quantities.

In a large skillet heat olive oil and butter, then sauté the leeks together with thyme and garlic on low heat until soft and sweet – approx. 15-20 minutes.

Turn up the heat and add the vegetable stock. Bring to a rolling boil, then add the beans. Make sure that the beans are just covered in the liquid.

Allow to simmer for approx 8-10 minutes until the beans are soft and creamy. Then add parsley, crème fraîche and a good drizzle of olive oil. Season to taste.

These beans and leeks go with just about anything. Fish lovers will find it perfect to trout, wild salmon or tilapia. Delicately baked chicken is with just a simple seasoning of lemon juice, salt and pepper is a wonderful accompaniment. Or as Jamie serves the beans and leeks with steaks.

Verdict

Buttery, creamy and delicately exquisite. A rustic yet very chic dish to complement your main dish. We had it with lightly herb marinated lamb filets – a fantastic, quick and very satisfying meal. There is something lavishly soothing about rustic dishes like this – and always a hit in our family.

It's time for a fiesta and everyone is invited. My gracious guest hostess is the absolutely wonderful Jenny from All Things Edible and I love the theme she picked for this month. Jenny wants us all to come party with her in her Mexican Fiesta.

I love butter beans... probably because they remind me of spending time with my grandparents when I was growing up. I don't think we had very many meals that didn't include butter beans from the garden that had been cooked for hours (with a heap of butter). I've never tried them with leeks before, but sounds and looks great, so I'll have to give this a shot.

Thank you for visiting What's For Lunch, Honey? and taking time to browse through my recipes, listen to my ramblings and enjoy my photographs. I appreciate all your comments, feedback and input. I will answer your questions to my best knowledge and respond to your comments as soon as possible.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy your stay here and that I was able to make this an experience for your senses.

Hello, I am Meeta a freelance food photographer, stylist and writer living in the cuturally rich city of Weimar, Germany with my husband and our son, where I enjoy preparing multi-cultural home cooked meals with fresh organic ingredients. What's for lunch, Honey? is my award winning food blog where I combine my love for food with my love for photography and styling...